FRANKLIN, W.Va. — Folks in Pendleton County are growing weary of the longtime restrictions on communications equipment due to regulations surrounding the National Radio Quiet Zone.
The area has strict limitations on the amount of power for transmitters of radio signals and RF frequencies in much of Pendleton and Pocahontas counties. The restrictions have been in place for decades to protect the long time work of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank in Pocahontas County.
The NRAO and its restrictions were implemented in the 1950s. Pendleton County Emergency Services Coordinator Rick Gillespie pointed out it was an entirely different time.
“In the 1950s we didn’t have first responders and citizens walking around with wireless devices like cell phones, tablets and laptops. We also didn’t have ambulances equipped with wireless devices which direct information to doctors to give them information so they can relay to the paramedics the best choice for treatment of patients on their way to the hospital,” he said.
According to Gillespie, the quiet zone restrictions have forced his county to invest way more money into a greater amount of radio hardware which isn’t as efficient.
“We are required to build more low profile towers than what we would have to do if we were a county outside the quiet zone,” he explained.
The Pendleton County Commission this week passed a resolution asking for Congress to take action.
“We would like to see the quiet zone disbanded. Absent that happening, then the federal government, which is the entity demanding this on
localities’, provide funding to meet this. It’s currently an unfunded mandate,” said Gillespie.
Commissioners and county leaders indicated the restrictions are also putting their county at a competitive disadvantage for tourism and growth. Many have relocated to Pendleton County since the pandemic to work remotely. However, they have been forced in many cases to use the StartLink technology to acquire enough bandwidth to do their jobs. Gillespie said in recent months, for some, even StarLink has been removed as an option.
“Close in to the Sugar Grove facility, they have lost their ability to use their StarLink because of an agreement the Quiet Zone has signed with StarLink,” he explained.
Residents in the Sugar Grove area say they have received identical written responses from StarLink about the agreement in recent months when they inquired about a loss in service. Gillespie and the Pendleton County Commission indicated they need the federal government to either do away with the quiet zone, or pick up the cost incurred by their county to meet the restrictions.
Gillespie admitted through talks they have been granted a waiver by the administrators of the Quiet Zone to run more powerful equipment in the VHF portion of the spectrum. However, Gillespie said the problem is Pendleton County and the West Virginia Interoperable Radio Network operate on the UHF spectrum, which is more objectionable to the Quiet Zone.
“We’re more than willing to take advantage of that waiver they’ve already executed with us and relocate all of our equipment on the VHF spectrum. The problem is, by our estimates that would require about $6 Million for Pendleton County to make that transition. That’s $6 Million we do not have,” Gillespie said.